One the painting table ... Avatar of something like that

Malifaux – I finally have the two Avatars I picked up assembled and base coated. I really like the Seamus model and the flash line weren't anywhere near as bad as they were on Snowstorm. I hope this is a sign that quality control with resin minis is improving. 

I was happy to see that Kirai was still all metal, however getting her together was a pain. It looks like the robe of Ikyro and the prone Kirai are supposed to join tightly together to give the impression one is coming out of the other. No matter what I tried I couldn't get them to match up right. so I placed Ikyro off to one side and used green stuff to blend the robe into the base. I think I like how this looks better than the models I've seen assembled "correctly."

Still not sure how much I'll like them in the game, but the idea of hulking out mid game is pretty cool.

I've also done some more work to my Alternate Seamus. I removed the "wimpy" flintlock and replaced it with one of the shotgun-type weapons in the Hats and Guns pack. I think this change really reinforces the homage to Evil Dead and more people will get it.

Army of Darkness

Malifaux – A friend of mine was kind enough to pick up the Alternate Seamus sculpt for me when he was down at GenCon 2011. I really like the sculpt just because it's so silly, the homage to Evil Dead seems to be over some peoples heads but fans can see it right away.

I've gotten my base coat and initial wash done and so far I'm really digging the model. My only complaint is the flintlock looks significantly smaller on this model. The base coat is all GW foundation paint thinned down so it's not so thick. I've also started the road to detailing with some GW washes.

I think I'm probably going to give him red hair this time around. That way I have a young and old version of the Mad Hatter.

Off the painting table...

Malifaux – I've finally gotten around to taking photos of some of my own finished pieces. I'm primarily a Resurrectionist player and prefer to use Seamus. I find him to fit my style best. Nicodem and McMorning both see plenty of table time as each master excels at different strategies. You can see the updated photos in the Gallery link.

I've chosen to stick with a green theme for each of the masters. Even though though this is a skirmish game I like to carry through general color schemes so that the models feel cohesive on the table. With other models I try to keep the skin tones similar, for example the Belles are a bit fresher so they have more color, where the Punk Zombies are rotting and therefore have a greener hue to their flesh.

All of my Resurrectionists models are based on the Dragonforge Designs Cobblestone bases. These are easy to work with and a great deal, you can get 10 30mm bases for $10. He has a nice selection available, my Neverborn are based on the Forgotten Empires set and the Guild are on a combination of the Trench Boards and Broken Wasteland. I'll be posting photos of them as the move back onto my painting table. If you want a consistent look throughout your force I highly recommend these bases. The quality is outstanding and they are really easy to work with.

Tactics: Seamus

Seamus by far my favorite of the Resurrectionist masters. He is great at so many things. I typically prefer him for assassinate and slaughter. The movement bonuses he grants to Belles also makes them good for treasure hunt. He is very difficult to kill and can take a ton of punishment. The necrotic ministrations ability helps to refill your hand and keep him healed.

Some things I’ve found with Seamus is that he works better with 7-8 stones. You’re going to want to cheat and burn a stone most times to be sure his gun hits and does at least moderate damage since you only get one shot. When he gets in a bind or stuck in melee (you don’t want to be there his purse is only good if you need one more point of damage) Undead Psychosis can force the enemy to move away as long as you keep your undead models close. He is a bit lackluster at some things, unless you have whittled your opponent down to no card his melee attacks are low damage output with a trigger that only works when your opponent has no cards. No escape lets him charge on an opponents turn, cool but very situational since you don’t typically want to be in melee with him.

My usual 30SS list with him consists of a convict gunslinger, copycat killer, 2 punk zombies, 1-2 canine remains and a Belle. The idea is to run the dog forward as interference, it will die an maybe trigger rabies if you get lucky. The belle moves up and lures something forward (preferably whatever moved closer) to set up the gunslinger, Seamus and the copycat for a shot. Using this technique I’ve been able to kill a steamborg by turn two with one round of shooting as well as eliminate other forces one piece at a time. The nice thing about this tactic is depending on how you activate you’ll usually have a corpse within 6” to make a Belle. Once you have a few more Belles you can usually pull what ever you want in range and cast distract to slow down the rest of the crew.

I haven’t had a chance to experiment with the hanged yet but it seems like they are a natural fit for a Seamus crew. Seamus’s ability to lower willpower should allow them to cause some havoc. The 8 stone cost and the fact that they are spirits are both limiting factors to consider. Seamus really relies on the ability to make more Belles, if you’re not creating a new Belle every other turn you’re probably not going to win a war of attrition. Sticking with low cost high damage/utility units is the safest strategy with Seamus.

The unique characters can add a different flavor to his crews but they really become very situational. Sybil can help move the Belles around where they are needed and give Seamus a chance to activate most of his crew at once. She soaks up damage and has a decent output, but isn’t always the best choice depending on your strategy. Mortimer and Sebastion both can do some interesting things however you have to remember if they are using an all action they will be left behind. If you flip a graveyard for the special terrain Mortimer is a auto-include. Once he gets there he can pop out 2 corpses a turn and help to grow you army. Sebastion is decent in melee but the desire to turn him into a dog factory makes it so you don’t actually do anything useful with him. Bette Noir should be a useful addition, the major issue I see here is her cost and having to keep a high crow in your hand. With Seamus this could be a Belle or a more useful trigger. The havoc she can wreck if your enemy has something die in the middle of their forces is considerable. But in my experience with her she’s done some damage and then either died because I didn’t have a crow or came back to late to make an impact. I love the model and think she could be a huge asset, I just haven’t had success with her yet.

[edit: Bette doesn't need a high crow, it just so happens that every time I've used her the only high card I had in my hand was a crow. So she's potentially much better than I give her credit for I just haven't had success.]